Why the Saints could keep or let UFA McBride go

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Originally Posted by Danno
I think we should either keep him and see what Spags can do or cut our losses and try to find someone else.
Keep him and follow his off season rehab fairly closely. How old is ...

The reason why McBride might fit into what the Saints and Spags want to do next season may have very little to do with his fit ability-wise as opposed to how he fits into the system cap-wise.

The FA pool is not that great when it comes to DEs and those that would be great pick ups for the Saints may not be fit within their allotted cap space. Also, this coming draft class isn't really strong DE-wise, so it might be very hard for the Saints to find a rookie DE with starter (or regular rotation) potential.

Therefore, McBride might be a good short term player for the DE rotation, which under Spags will require a number of DEs in order to be effective. The Saints might look for the tackle position to make the biggest improvements in creating more pass rush, because the coming draft class is bountiful in regards to DTs that have potential to be day-1 starters.

Another way to go might be to try and draft players that have the potential and the ability to line up in various defensive positions like Ronnell Lewis the Oklahoma LB/DE and/or Derek Wolfe the Cincinnati DT/DE. And, consequently, this is the way I would like to see them go, because of the variety of defensive on field audibles it would make possible.

Why not coach a rookie up to a defensive end position? I do believe it has been done before?